Garden Accents and Colorful Plantings
It is always fun to be able to get some before shots. These clients had a wide-open palette to design. We started with the hardscapes keeping in mind a large swimming pool would be going into the center of the lawn next spring.
Features included a pergola over the outside grill, an arbor over the garden gate, a granite-recirculating fountain, 2 trellises, and a steel dog statue measuring 5 feet tall.
The trick with garden features is to allow each to have enough space in the coming years to stand-alone and blend together, yet not overlap too much so it looks like a continuous run of features
The yard was just big enough so each feature has its own space. Each area is treated as its own vignette with flowers and leaves that change seasonally and bloom a long time.
This first picture is the one hot corner of the yard. Sunny areas are where you can get a lot of colorful blooms. From this vantage point you see 2 trellises (one just from the side), one pergola and the fountain. Perennials that flower a long time and stand up on their own have been planted to the back of the bed. English thyme is in the front of the fountain to provide a lush evergreen around the paler river stone.
Roses line the left fence with a few limelight hydrangeas behind them and to each side of the arbor. Garden lovers will be walking through 8’ high white lime green blooms 6 months of the year.
Next are red, pink and white varieties of peonies. Jackamanii purple clematis and a red climbing rose will be planted at the base of the trellis next spring after it’s painted.
Garage before
Garage after
You can’t see it but a butterfly bush and 2 trumpet coral vines that are tucked in behind the roses. I know we will be maintaining this garden so I can do all the fun stuff that grows together because I know how to free prune!
On the other side of the yard is a hedge of hornbeam trees, fronted with Nikko blue hydrangeas and then backed up with steed hollies. This is the area is they view from their den. Sometimes plants lined up can be refreshing. I like how the hornbeams are not all the same size so there is a bit of vertical movement in the trees, which will hedge out in a few years.
Looking down the yard you see a lovely brick wall and line of crape myrtles, which we carefully pruned. We planted chartreuse heucheras to brighten up the area, Annabelle hydrangeas that bloom white and stay fresh in the shade, and the green and bronze leafed autumn ferns. George Tabor azaleas and sesanquah camellias give spring and flower color.
As your eye follows the bed line the bright yellow green stained- glass hostas around the dog statute pop with bright color. Your eye follows past Russian sage to another shady bed that has oak leaf hydrangea, foxglove and mahonia in the shade and again the chartreuse stain glass hosta. This punctuates the end of the bed.
Good garden design I believe is all about leading the eye through the garden by weaving in leaf color, blooms and leaf texture.
The dog statue is fantastic and was ordered by the clients. It is clearly the focal point and was secured in perfect alignment with the center of the blue stone terrace. Shade loving evergreen Hick’s yews back up the dog. Without the deep green the statue would be lost and blend into the brick wall. The dog is standing amongst what will become a carpet of evergreen fragrant rosemary. It is tough and nails and will smell terrific when the large steel brown dog starts walking around!
Christie lives in Manakin Sabot , Virginia where she manages a 3 acre garden. Her blogs are written from her 35 years as a personal and professional gardener.
Leave A Comment